The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration released by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 14, 1941 following a meeting of the two heads of
state in Newfoundland, Canada.
THE ATLANTIC CHARTER
AUGUST 14, 1941
“The President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, representing His
Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, being met together, deem it right to make known certain
common principles in the national policies of their respective countries on which they base their hopes
for a better future for the world.
First, their countries seek no territory;
Second, they desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of
the peoples concerned;
Third, they respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live;
and they wish to see sovereign rights and self-government restored to those who have been forcibly
deprived of them;
Fourth, they will endeavor, with due respect for their existing obligations, to further the enjoyment by
all States, great or small, victor or vanquished, of access, on equal terms, to the trade and to the raw
materials of the world which are needed for their economic prosperity;
Fifth, they desire to bring about the fullest collaboration between all nations in the economic field with
the object of securing, for all, improved labor standards, economic advancement and social security;
Sixth, after the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, they hope to see established a peace which will
afford to all nations the means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries, and which will afford
assurance that all the men in all lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want;
Seventh, such a peace should enable all men to traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance;
Eighth, they believe that all of the nations of the world, for realistic as well as spiritual reasons must
come to the abandonment of the use of force. Since no future peace can be maintained if land, sea or
air armaments continue to be employed by nations which threaten, or may threaten, aggression outside
of their frontiers, they believe, pending the establishment of a wider and permanent system of general
security, that the disarmament of such nations is essential. They will likewise aid and encourage all other
practicable measure which will lighten for peace-loving peoples the crushing burden of armaments.”
Signed:
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Winston S. Churchill
Questions for Analysis:
1. What was the purpose of the Atlantic Charter? What are its goals?
2. How does the United Nations (UN), established in October, 1945, uphold the goals of
the Atlantic Charter?
3. In what ways is the UN stronger than the League of Nations as an international
diplomatic organization?